How Does The Character Of Mercutio Develop Throughout The Play Romeo & Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare in 1597. It is a 5 act tragedy that is set in Verona, Italy. The whole play takes place over just a few days which enhances the dramatic impact of the events. Shakespeare cleverly builds drama and suspense by creating a mixture of long scenes that build to a climax, followed by a short scene, that link to the new situation. It could also be said that the shorter scenes are used to change the stage settings without having long pauses.

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This story is about two teenagers, who fall in love with each other, but they are children of two warring families; the Montagues and The Capulets, who hate each other. Setting this play in Verona, Italy was very clever as Italians were thought of as promiscuous, fun and very romantic compared to their Elizabethan English citizens.

Shakespeare wrote this play during the Elizabethan period, a time when so many new and exciting developments were happening.

(January 25, 1559 the first Parliament of Elizabeth was opened. With its 'Act of Uniformity,' the queen showed that she would follow the course of the Reformation, begun by her predecessors Henry VIII and Edward VI, but Catholics in England were not forbidden to serve the Mass. This act of religious tolerance allowed the queen to avoid civil war. And finally , she she corresponded with the Russian Tsar Ivan IV . So, why did William Shakespeare decide to choose Verona ( Italy)? Shakespeare chose Verona as the city for the characters, because in my opinion it was such an ‘emotional’ city, a place full of romance.

Italians were also thought of as ‘hot headed’ lovers, duling against their rivals to resolve any disagreement, especially ones of the heart. The Italian weather would also have been taken into consideration as the summer heat also builds a sense of excitement, where tempers can easily run out of control. To Elizabethan society, Italy would be a place of almost fantasy, so by setting his tragic play there Shakespeare really would have captured the audience's attention.

From this drama we can learn that Romeo, who is the main character, an almost pathetic lover who falls in love with any beautiful face he sees, has a friendship with Benvolio, Friar Lawrence and, of course, Mercutio. Mercutio is almost the opposite of Romeo, he is violent, rude and sexualizes all women. It is clear the Edwardian society, especially men in power, would have had little respect for women - thinking they are on earth to please men.

Although Mercutio is an important character who has a marked effect on the audience, he is dramatically killed-off very early in the play. We meet with Mercutio in Act 1, scene 4, just before the grand ball where he enters the stage to help Romeo get over his depression over Rosaline who Romeo expresses he cannot live without. Immediately the audience is enlightened to his character when he suggests to Romeo that he should to sleep with someone else. . By suggesting that all Romeo needs to get over one woman is to sleep with another not only shows his character but represents the thoughts of many men in that time.

Mercutio is one of my favorite characters from the play as, in my opinion, the Elizabeth time was so saturated with change and the rules of the old and the new being confused, maybe William Shakespeare wanted to put all these emotions, which he experienced about the political situation, into one character. Interestingly, he was named after the planet Mercury. Mercutio is an inquisitive, restless and kind of nervous person who adapts to any situation. If the planet Mercury is not disturbed, it can be very eloquent and talkative just like Mercutio's character in the play, hence his character was named with a lot of thought. He possesses a strong intellectual strength, vigorous perception and quick thinking. His thoughts are always directed towards himself, and therefore he hardly perceives the feelings of other people. ( found some of information from the astrology book)

Mercutio is very intelligent, constantly in need of self-expression and speaks before he thinks( like in the Act 1, scene 4, where he forgot about everybody and started talk to himself about dreams). In personal matters he is always rational and prudent. There is an intense need for him to constantly express his thoughts in writing or orally. He is in constant movement, which helps him understand himself. His mind is intuitive, possessing great will-power although, sometimes he develops violent intellectual activity. A very intelligent, judicious and sober person who knows how to find a common language with anyone. He is able to make quick decisions, because his thoughts are clear and precise.

Also, I want to add that this person is able to analyze other people's problems, is interested in extrasensory perception and has a special kind of mysterious thinking. His mind is penetrating and refined, he likes to work alone, because in public it is difficult for him to express himself. He is not too confident about himself, but tries to hide it. All his decisions are based on feelings(Mercutio is so emotional person. He can be so aggressive, romantic, relaxed and funny. We can feel all his emotions through the whole play. For example in act 1, scene 4, where he is talking about dreams, feelings and Queen Mab, or in Act 3 , scene 1, where he is fighting with Tybalt- he shows all hatred to the audience), his decisions are not based on reason, and therefore one should fear life in a fictitious, imaginary world. We can notice this in the every scene when Mercutio is on stage.

This description covers Mercutio completely. He is strange, has a great imagination, funny, and loves wordplay - especially sexual double entendres. He’s always lightheaded and tries to find something good and positive in every moment. This person is a dreamer, but try to prove romeo and himself, that ( for example) dreams are the products of a brain that’s doing nothing. This words we can find in Act 1 scene 4.

When I was reading the play, I noticed that Mercutio can be romantic, and when he talked about sex and women he could use, he was actually just putting on a mask and he honestly had some underlying problems ( such as non-reciprocal love) and after his last heartbreak he decided to never fall in love.Remember that line from my essay ‘ His thoughts are always directed towards himself, 'I', and therefore he hardly perceives the feelings of other people. ‘ Maybe he had so bad experience of love and maybe because of this Mercutio always recommended Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite. A perfect example of this can be seen in Act 1 scene 4 when he began to tell Romeo about Queen Mab, slowly it began to be a soliloquy and if Romeo didn’t stop Mercutio, I think we could have learnt more about this person.

Throughout the play we can see how Mercutio helps Romeo. In Act 1 scene 4 Romeo is depressed, he thinks about Rosaline and only Mercutio tries to help Romeo. He says ´ we must have you dance´, ´you are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings...´,´if love be rough with you,be rough with love’ and many others.Romeo always trusts Mercutio and in the play we can see how he trusts him.

In my opinion, Romeo was the best friend of Mercutio, but Mercutio doesn’t tell him anything. This character usually gives us tips,that he has a difficult life and problems, but, as we can see, he never tell Romeo the whole situations.Mercutio was always set as an example and both Benvolio and Romeo tries to be on the same level with him. He is courage. In act 3 scene 1, when the Capulets and The Montagues met, Benvolio started to worry, but Mercutio made it clear that he does not want to be afraid of Tybalt. Everybody can just guess, if he really isn’t afraid of them or he just wanted to show the audience and his friends that he is a courage. When I was reading Act 3 scene 1, I was imaging Mercutio and Tybalt are like two tigers, which always ready to kill each other, and in the play we can see, that ‘ a tiger’ of the Montagues runs into a fight between ‘ a tiger’ of the Capulets. So, then, you know the effects of this: Mercutio was killed by Tybalt.What about relationship between him and the nurse? As I mentioned before, Mercutio is so emotional person, and he shows us his opinion about nurse so bright. He always talk about her like about sex toy, which men can use ( he thinks like that about all girls ). He says everything with a big sarcasm when the nurse is near.

Also, I want to add that Mercutio got so angry, when Tybalt told him that he is hang out with Romeo. These words we can be found in act 3 scene 1, it begins with the words ‘ Mercutio, thou consort’st with Romeo. I think that Mercutio gets so angry, if somebody bind him with somebody. Maybe Mercutio just wanted to be alone or he didn’t trust people so much, and it’s an insult for him.

I think that if Tybalt didn’t kill him, we may learn more information about this interesting and self-contained character.